A FLAGSHIP revamp of the Usher Hall has had to be scaled back because of a funding crisis.

Urgent savings have had to be made into the proposed refurbishment after a series of "unforeseen" complications in the building work.

Around £2 million-worth of cuts have been identified in recent weeks to ensure the project is delivered on budget and that the venue is ready to be used in time for next year's Edinburgh International Festival.

Although work on a major glass, winged extension to the council-owned building will not be completed until the spring of 2009, the Festival has been promised that the venue will be able to host full-scale concerts by next August.

When building work began, it was discovered extra reinforcements were required for the foundations of the extension, while problems were identified with the condition of parts of the existing building, particularly on the roof.

The major impact of the cutbacks has been to limit the scale of refurbishment on the north side of the building, although the planned extension is unaffected.

One of two major new stairwells has also had to be dropped, the bar and toilet facilities are being scaled back, and plans to improve access for stage equipment have been dropped.

Emergency talks held over the last couple of months between the hall's management, council officials, contractors and architects led to the decision being taken to scale back the envisaged designs.

Colin Ross, the chief architect on the project, said: "There was always a degree of risk that the costs would go up once work got under way, and the crucial element was the need to ensure the venue was able to reopen for next year's Festival. We've had to compromise slightly over the designs because of the need to keep the budget in line, but also to ensure that the timetable is stuck to."

Lynne Halfpenny, head of culture and sport at the city council, added: "We have approached the organisations that are already funding the refurbishment, the Scottish Arts Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund, to ask about the possibility of additional funding, but they said no, and the council just doesn't have that kind of money available at the moment. Every effort has been made to deliver the refurbishment on time."

The council pegged a new budget for the refurbishment at £19 million last October, after admitting costs had soared by £6.5m in three-and-a-half years.